Celebrating Day of the Dead in Mexico

Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a holiday celebrated throughout the Americas and combines ancient Indigenous traditions and modern fanfare. It is a whimsical and yet serious holiday that primarily takes place between October 31st and November 2nd.

Mexico may have the most spectacular festivals in the hemisphere. Well known are festivities in Oaxaca, Michoacán, and Mexico City.

Photo: Secretary of turism Aguascalientes

Day of the Dead is literally a world away from Halloween and has more in common with the holiday of Thanksgiving as celebrated in Canada and the USA. For many Mexicans — and particularly Oaxacans — Day of the Dead is the favorite holiday of the year, easily surpassing Christmas.

The dead are not remembered or commemorated. Instead they are considered present. This is a celebration with the dead, not of the dead.

Love rules the holiday as families believe that the souls of the departed return to visit living relatives. There is an abundance of food and drink, the favorites of the deceased.

Family altars are vibrant and showcase the love for deceased. The living shower the deceased with food and presents and decorate the graves and recount their stories of their loved ones. Yellow is the most visible color on the altars decorated with bright marigold flowers (cempasúchil, see photo). A symbolic buffet of favorite food and drinks serves the deceased. Trails of marigolds lead like runways to guide spirits home back to their loved ones. The distinctive scent of marigolds are said to attract the dead. Other flowers include Flor de Muerto and Cresta de Gallo (Cockscomb). Altars have candles that are important for their light and their smoke. Copal – the sap from the tree also used to make alebrijes – is burned for a sweet incense.

By Ron Mader, October 2018, posted in Planeta.com Americas Conscious TravelMexico, Celebrating Day of the Dead in Mexico, recovered from: https://planeta.com/mexico-muertos/

Day of the Dead Destinations

Where to Celebrate Day of the Dead in Mexico.

Oaxaca, Oaxaca

Visitors to Oaxaca during Day of the Dead can visit colorful marketplaces in nearby villages (the Friday market in Ocotlan is outstanding), witness vigils in a variety of cemeteries and take part in night-time carnival-like processions called comparsas. There are also sand tapestry competitions and Day of the Dead altars set up throughout town. Learn more about Day of the Dead in Oaxaca

Janitzio and Patzcuaro, Michoacan

Janitzio is a small island in Patzcuaro Lake and is easily reached by boat from Patzcuaro. The island is home to the Purepecha indigenous group (sometimes called Tarascans) who have elaborate Day of the Dead rituals. There are processions and music, folk dances are performed and families gather in the cemetery to spend the night chanting and singing. Perhaps the most impressive sight is the fishermen in their rowboats with torches lighting up the lake.

Mixquic, Mexico

Mixquic, located in the Tlahuac Delegation of Mexico City (southwest of the Mexico City center) has been swallowed up by the megalopolis’s urban sprawl, but retains the ambiance of a rural village with strong indigenous roots. Street stalls are set up in the days before the celebrations. A procession through town with a cardboard coffin leads the way to the cemetery where a candle-light vigil will take place.

Merida, Yucatan

In the Maya language, Day of the Dead celebrations are referred to as Hanal Pixan, which means “feast for the souls.” Families gather to prepare a special seasoned chicken tamale wrapped in banana leaves (called pibipollo), which is cooked underground in a pit. The dish is enjoyed by both the spirits, who are believed to consume its essence, and the living, who enjoy the real thing! There are also festivities in the streets and cemeteries. See our Mérida City Guide.

Aguascalientes

The birthplace of engraver Jose Guadalupe Posada celebrates Day of the Dead every year with the Festival de las Calaveras (Festival of Skulls) from October 28 to November 2. The festival takes place on the city fairgrounds with exhibitions of handicrafts, stands with traditional food and seasonal fruit, and varied theater productions, and concerts. The grand parade of calaveras along Aguascalientes’ Avenida Madero is a highlight of the festival. e: Festival de las Calaveras | More about Aguascalientes

Riviera Maya

Xcaret theme park in the Riviera Maya hosts an annual Festival de la Vida y la Muerte, “Festival of Life and Death,” in honor of the Day of the Dead. The festival runs from October 30th to November 2nd, and includes theater and dance performances, concerts, conferences, parades and special tours, as well as special Day of the Dead rituals. Festival Websit: Festival of Life and Death

Chiapa de Corzo, Chiapas

This pleasant colonial town on the Río Grijalva is 7 miles (12 km) from Tuxtla de Gutierrez, capital of the Mexican state of Chiapas. For Day of the Dead the cemetery is decorated in a lively manner with colorful ribbons, flowers and candles. There is live music in the cemetery as families serenade the deceased on their short-lived return.

Guanajuato

The city of San Miguel de Allende in Guanajuato holds an annual four-day festival known as “La Calaca” with artistic and cultural events that are “integrated into the vibrant celebration of life and death known as Dia de Muertos”.

In Mexico, the age-old cultural traditions of Day of the Dead are still very much alive!

Without author Mexico’s Day of the Dead: nine of the best places to visit, oct 2016, geo mexico, recovered from: http://geo-mexico.com/?p=10122

By Suzanne Barbezat, December 2017, Top 7 Day of the Dead Destinations, tripsavvy, recovered from: https://www.tripsavvy.com/top-day-of-the-dead-destinations-1588707